Self Guided Private Land Kansas Deer Hunting 2016

This page covers a mix of topics. They will mesh Kansas State regulations with Mid-America Hunting Association.

The idea is how the hunter may leverage his available time. That is with a better option through this Association. This is for those that want to have choices of when and where they hunt. Doing so as a self guided hunter on private land free from un-due pressure.

Before the hunt.

Then after.

Brent. Do it yourself hunters who execute their own scouting and set their own hunts. We work with those that seek the special satisfaction of having done it on their own. No special skill set required. Just a desire to have a good hunt.

Association's private land is separated into Units. A unit is a single map sheet. A sample is shows at right. Each spot is numbered. The map itself is a road map.

Hunters would reserve an individually numbered property. Reservations insure we do not place another hunter on the same lease at the same time. Each hunter may hunt a different or the same spot from day to day. Most have 3 to 5 or more spots they would like to hunt.

All may hunt their choice of the entire season. Most hunt a week, some more. It is the hunter's choice of when and where to hunt.

All will be able to select from several farms. Of those farms found to be to any hunter's preference he then may choose to hunt one or the others each day of his trip.

All is self guided. That means once the Association gets the hunter to the point of where to park his truck he makes the rest of his hunt. The hunter provides his own equipment and skill. Scouts his spots. Places his own stands. Hunts any of his stands for whatever time period he deems appropriate. It is by covering ground in this manner that any one hunter may find his buck of choice. The contrasting idea is to have just one spot and hope it works out by luck.

Kansas Tag Issues

For the Kansas non-resident hunter the wildlife regulations and tag application may be confusing. This is partly due to the many types of Kansas tags.

The short answer is the draw application month is April. The application is on the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks web site starting April 1. By June hunters know what tag they have.

After the regular draw left over tags are available for purchase.

All who want a whitetail tag are likely to get their tag of choice, that is in central and eastern Kansas. The competitive tags in Kansas are for Mule Deer. That includes for the whitetail tags in the western Kansas Mule Deer Regions.

Kansas Regulations

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks does maintain a web page posting all regulation changes. That is both passed and proposed changes.

All should check this page before each season. Even the resident long time hunter needs to re-read the Kansas regulations. That is required by the common yearly changes Kansas has made. That read should occur before tag application or purchase.

Kansas Cover Includes Much Variety

Once arriving in Kansas the hunter will find a range of habitat. The impact is on the bow hunter. Much of Kansas is not bow friendly. talking with the Association partners of where to hunt may payoff for the first time Kansas hunter.

This variety of cover frequently defies many hunters' prior experience. Cover is not all woods. Such cover as native grass high enough to conceal a standing buck at 10 feet is often new to many. The impossible to walk through plum thicket seems to hide an entire herd. All of which when experienced and with good observation may enhance any hunt.

What is key to the traveling hunter's success is to agree that Kansas is a trophy Whitetail state of a long standing reputation. That means the cover that Kansas does have and its natural food sources are likely to support that trophy whitetail reputation. It is also often the case the traveling hunter does not have experience with that combination of cover to food that makes for a successful hunt. The same hunters often come prepared to hunt terrain he is most accustomed to and that is likely to be different than what exists within Kansas' trophy regions. The idea is the hunter needs to adapt to what exists locally. He does not need to think the bucks will accommodate his preferences.

The predominate whitetail habitat is open farm land with some woods. More likely brush and grasses, both tall and short. What is not present are large expanses of big timber. It is a case it is the hunter that must change. The trophy producing habitat will not adapt to the hunter. One easily illustrated small point is that available year round water is limited and a daily behavior modifying effect. Many hunters come from states where the abundance of natural water means that scouting a water source is not part of their focus. That would be a mistake in Kansas.

Not changing ideas of where to hunt may have consequence. A non-resident hunter many years ago explained to us the cause for his lack of success is that our lease land was for "bird hunters". It was not whitetail land. He believed we did not have enough trees for deer. That conversation led to the adage that hunters need to come to hunt trophy whitetail, not trees. They exist on grain farm land where 55% of the land use is crop fields. Remember that Kansas is a "Great Plains State" Not the "Forest State". It is Kansas grain farms that have the trophy bucks.